Journal article
Protostellar Jets in Star Cluster Formation and Evolution. I. Implementation and Initial Results
The Astronomical journal, v 172(1), 12
01 Jul 2026
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Abstract
Stars form in clusters from the gravitational collapse of giant molecular clouds, which is opposed by a variety of physical processes, including stellar feedback. The interplay between these processes determines the star formation rate of the clouds. To study how feedback controls star formation, we use a numerical framework that is optimized to simulate star cluster formation and evolution. This framework, called Torch, combines the magnetohydrodynamical code FLASH with N-body and stellar evolution codes in the Astrophysical Multipurpose Software Environment (AMUSE). Torch includes stellar feedback from ionizing and nonionizing radiation, stellar winds, and supernovae, but, until now, did not include protostellar jets. We present our implementation of protostellar jet feedback within the Torch framework and describe its free parameters. We then demonstrate our new module by comparing cluster formation simulations with and without jets. We find that the inclusion of protostellar jets slows star formation, even in clouds of up to M = 2 & times; 104 M circle dot. We also find that the star formation rate of our lower-mass clouds (M = 5 & times; 103 M circle dot) is strongly affected by both the inclusion of protostellar jets and the chosen jet parameters, including the jet lifetime and injection velocity. We follow the energy budget for each simulation and find that the inclusion of jets systematically increases the kinetic energy of the gas at early times. The implementation of protostellar jet feedback in Torch opens new areas of investigation regarding the role of feedback in star cluster formation and evolution.
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Details
- Title
- Protostellar Jets in Star Cluster Formation and Evolution. I. Implementation and Initial Results
- Creators
- Sabrina M. Appel (Corresponding Author) - Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyBlakesley Burkhart - Flatiron Health (United States)Mordecai-Mark Mac Low - Amer Museum Nat Hist, Dept Astrophys, New York, NY 10024 USAEric P. Andersson - American Museum of Natural HistoryClaude Cournoyer-Cloutier - Max Planck Institute for AstrophysicsSean Lewis - Drexel UniversityStephen L. W. McMillan - Drexel UniversityBrooke Polak - American Museum of Natural HistorySimon Portegies Zwart - Leiden UniversityAaron Tran - University of Wisconsin–MadisonMaite J. C. Wilhelm - Leiden University
- Publication Details
- The Astronomical journal, v 172(1), 12
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing
- Number of pages
- 23
- Grant note
- 80NSSC24K0935 / NASA divided by SMD divided by Astrophysics Division (AD) NA / David and Lucile Packard Foundation (PF) Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology / Government of Ontario (Ontario) 10.2.5.1 / NOVA DE-SC0014664 / Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) CGS D / Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) DE-SC0014664 / DOE divided by Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) NA / Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (APSF); Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Mathematics and Physical Sciences division / Simons Foundation (SF); Simons Foundation NASA Cooperative Agreement / New York Space Grant Consortium (NYSG)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Physics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001785149900001
- Other Identifier
- 991022191377304721